When Will Jesus Return?

- By David Brandt Berg

Introduction from the Webmaster:
I don't agree entirely with all the teaching in this article any longer. I believe now that Matthew 24 may be talking only about the events of 70 A.D. and not the Endtime. The main point of the article is to show that pre-tribulation rapture is unscriptural and pure speculation.

Matthew chapter 24 is quite clear on the subject of
Jesus' Second Coming, when He is going to return to
gather all those who have received Him as their Savior and
take them with Him back to Heaven - an event commonly
referred to as "the Rapture." The rest of the Bible is also
clear on when this happens. That's why for nearly 1,800
years practically every Christian believed Jesus would come
back after the period He refers to as "Great Tribulation" -
three and a half years of intense persecution.

It's only in the last couple of hundred years that people
like C.I. Scofield (1843-1921) came along with the false
doctrine that Jesus would come before the Tribulation.
"Don't worry, Jesus is going to come and take you out of this
world before the trouble comes, so you won't have to suffer."
Naturally that became a very popular doctrine because it was
just what everybody had been waiting to hear.

When does Jesus come back for us? - That's also plain as
day: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days" Jesus
returns (Matthew 24:29). Jesus doesn't say that when we see
the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place
He's about to rescue us out of this world, away from the
Antichrist and the trouble to come. He warns us to head for
the hills (Matthew 24:16). In other words, we will still be here.

And why did the Lord and the prophets go to so much
trouble to tell us exactly how long the Great Tribulation
would last - the exact time in terms of days, months, and
years - if we didn't need to know these things, if we won't
be here, counting the days and the weeks? (Daniel 7:25;
12:11; Revelation 13:5). Jesus told us these specifics because
He wants us to be able to take heart in knowing that the
Tribulation isn't going to last forever, and that every passing
day is bringing us closer to the glorious end.

During the Tribulation, things will get so bad that many
people will think it's time for Jesus to come, especially
Christians who were taught that He was supposed to come
before the Tribulation. They're going to expect Him to come
any day. But Jesus warns us not to expect Him sooner than
has been foretold. He also warns us to not be deceived by
either false christs who will try to deceive us into thinking
that they are Christ, or by false prophets who will try to tell
us that Christ's coming is imminent or that He's already here
somewhere (Matthew 24:23-26). He tells us to not believe
any of them, because when He comes, we will know it!

Some people who teach a pre-Tribulation Rapture go
so far as to say that it's going to be a secret Rapture - that
nobody is going to see Him except the saved. Nobody else is
even going to know He came. All of a sudden a bunch of us
are just going to disappear, and those who are left behind
won't know what's happened to us.

From my experience, many Christians who say they
believe in the pre-Tribulation Rapture just don't want to have
to go through the Tribulation and aren't the least bit prepared
for it, so they come up with their own interpretation of the
Scriptures or latch onto someone else's false teaching. But
the Bible specifically says not to do that. "No prophecy of
the Scripture is of any private interpretation" (2 Peter 1:20).
I don't care what other religious groups or other Christians
say; what does the Bible say?

In Matthew 24, Jesus' disciples ask Him what will be the
sign of His return, and Jesus answers with not one but a
number of signs - wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes,
persecution of Christians, a proliferation of false prophets,
lawlessness, a pervading lack of love, and the Gospel being
preached in every nation. "Then," He says, "the end will
come" (Matthew 24:4-14).

Beginning with the next verse, Jesus tells us what we
can expect during the Great Tribulation - the last three and
a half years leading up to His return, which is also the last
half of the Antichrist's reign. Jesus also tells us what specific
sign to watch for, so we'll know exactly when that period is
beginning. "When you see the 'abomination of desolation,'
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place
... then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been
since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor
ever shall be" (Matthew 24:15,21). We find out in the book
of Revelation that this "abomination of desolation" is an
image of the Antichrist, or Beast (Revelation 13:14-15).
Both Daniel and Revelation tell us that this image will be set
up in the holy place at exactly the middle of the Antichrist's
seven-year reign (Daniel 9:27; 12:11; Matthew 24:15-21;
Revelation 13:5).

If the Rapture is supposed to be a secret, why will the
Lord make so much noise and put on such a show when
He comes? His Word tells us that He's going to "come in
the clouds with great power and glory." The sky will light
up from one end to the other, and there will be such signs
in the heavens that we couldn't possibly mistake the fact
that Jesus is coming. In fact, it says that "every eye shall
see Him." Everyone will also see the dead in Christ - all
the saved people who have already died - rising to meet
Him in the air as He comes. They'll hear Jesus, too, because
He'll "descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice
of an archangel, and a great sound of the trump of God."
And why are all of the unsaved going to mourn? - Because
they're going to see and know what's happening (Matthew
24:27,30; "Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 1:7).
It will be the greatest spectacle the world has ever seen.

That doesn't sound like a secret coming or secret
Rapture to me! Does it to you?

And there it is again, plain as day: After the dead rise to
meet the Lord, "then we who are alive and remain will be
caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air" (1 Thessalonians 4:17). If we got raptured
before, then what are we doing still here?

The Word of God is free, but the time it took to pipe it to you ... isn't. If this webpage was a blessing to you, please consider a small gift of even $1.00 to keep this site going. If you have a Paypal account, you can send a donation to: [email protected]

Dear Visitor, if this article or website has been a blessing to you, would you please consider to send a gift through PayPal for the maintenance of this website? I'm also the webmaster of jamesjpn.net and you can read my bio on it.

My Paypal ID: james.arendt@deeptruths.com

I hope you find this website a blessing.

Sincerely in Christ,
James and Teresita Arendt
Webmaster of Deep TruthsGuam.

Are you sure you want to report it?

Comments (3)

Topic: when_will_jesus_return.html

Sort

5/5 (2)

Rebecca LaVoy (Tampa, US) says...

I don't believe in a pretrib rapture. But, what about the verse that tells us that one would be taken and the other left and to be prepared because we don't know of that day

Admin:

Hallelujah! I am rejoicing because your question has helped me get a better understanding of that Scripture based on its context with another Scripture in the same chapter!!

Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be TAKEN, and the other left. -- Matthew 24:40

Just look at the verse immediately before it!

And knew not until the flood came, and TOOK them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. --Matthew 24:39

The popular interpretation of "taken" in Matthew 24:40 is based on speculation, not what the Word actually says. It is not talking about the Rapture, but about a person being killed by the Romans who destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. The "took" of verse 39 is clearly referring to being destroyed in the FLOOD. And it's interesting the word "flood" is also used metaphorically in Daniel's prophecy of the same event.

And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary (Jerusalem and the Temple); and the end thereof shall be with a FLOOD, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. -- Daniel 9:26

Isn't it amazing that the Lord used the word flood to describe destruction of the wicked in 70 A.D. as also happened during the great flood of Noah? I mean, how clearer can it get than that? The only reason it took me decades to understand these verses correctly is because I was misled by popular eschatological teaching on the subject which said those verses were taking about the Rapture.

so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

I believe this is referring to

Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days (70 A.D.) shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Jesus appeared in the sky and those who had Him crucified 40 years before that saw Him! How do I know that? Because Jesus told the High Priest he would see Jesus again coming in power!

Mark 14:61 But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

I do not have a comment but rather a question. 15 years ago I used to attend a church for several months but after that I stopped going to the church not much longer after I was baptized. I fell away from the faith. Is it possible that I could return to Christ again. I appreciate your answer as to that question

...and much more--all in terms that are relatable and easy to follow. Personal accounts from active Christians around the world confirm that God is still alive and working just as wonderfully as ever on behalf of those who love Him.

Put that power to work for you! Connect with the source of love, happiness, peace, freedom, contentment, and the rest of the best life has to offer--God, who the Bible says is love. Change your life! Change your world! Get activated!